studies312.5Regulation of nicotinic receptor expression and function bychronic nicotine exposure312.6Acute actions of nicotine maintained in habitual cigarette smokers342.7Effects of nicotine on release of brain dopamine in smokers352.8Contribution of nicotinic receptor subtypes to the reinforcingeffects of nicotine in animal models372.9Conclusions38

3The neurobiological mechanisms underlying nicotine dependence

453.1Introduction453.2Nicotine self-administration in experimental animals463.3Neurobiology underlying the reinforcing properties of nicotine473.4The role of the accumbal shell483.5The role of the accumbal core 503.6The role of conditioned stimuli in nicotine reinforcement513.7Desensitisation and the neurobiology of addiction523.8The effects of nicotine withdrawal533.9The putative role of paracrine dopamine54